The Eagles will begin their 2010 slate Feb. 26 in Fort Myers, Fla.
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University softball team has announced its schedule for the upcoming 2010 season. Opening day for Head Coach Karen Baird and the Eagles will be against Villanova Fri, Feb. 26 at the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational in Fort Myers, Fla.
Eastern Michigan, who finished fourth in the MAC West Division in 2009 with a record of 22-30, 8-14 in the MAC, are looking to improve upon that finish when the season kicks off at the tail end of February. The Green and White will play its first 20 games away from Ypsilanti, beginning with the Gulf Coast Invitational. The round-robin tournament will consist of seven games for the Eagles, including a doubleheader against host FloridaGulfCoast. They'll take on Minnesota, St. Francis (Pa.), Connecticut and Georgia Southern as well.
From there, EMU will cruise on down to SouthBeach to take on FloridaInternationalUniversity, Mar. 4, before heading back upstate to take part in the Miken Classic hosted by FloridaAtlanticUniversity in Boca Raton, Fla., March 5-7. They will face off against the likes of Florida State, Michigan State, Florida A&M, Connecticut and host FAU.
After a short break, the Eagles will travel to Columbia, Mo. for the Missouri Tournament, March 19-21, where they'll play Northern Colorado, Northwestern, BallState and host Missouri. Following a pair of road dates against Notre Dame and MichiganState, Eastern Michigan will finally host its first home contest of the season when they do battle with Detroit in a doubleheader on the final day of March.
Mid-American Conference play begins the weekend of April 2-4, with the Eagles on the road at Toledo and Bowling Green. EMU will host its MAC home opener April 16, against Ohio as part of a nine-game homestand. Of the 16 home games the Eagles will host in 2010, only 10 are against MAC competition. The other 12 games on the 22-game MAC regular season schedule will be played away from Varsity Field.
Eastern Michigan will, however, end the regular season with a four-game homestand against Western Michigan and Northern Illinois, May 7-9. Prior to that, the Eagles will travel across WashtenawCounty to take on perennial power, Michigan May 5.
The MAC Tournament is scheduled for May 12-15, at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. The top eight teams qualify regardless of how they finish within their own division. The Eagles tied with Bowling Green for the eighth and final tournament berth, but missed out by virtue of a tie-breaker.
